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Weaponization of Blasphemy Laws Reflects Expanding Islamist Competition and Impact in Pakistan's Domestic and Foreign Policy
October 20, 2021
The open, intensifying competition among Pakistan's three major Islamist tendencies has been consolidated in their shared commitment to the weaponization of blasphemy laws against religious minorities via the judicial system and social violence.
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Taliban Default to Sharia Extremism in Consolidating Control in Afghanistan
October 20, 2021
The Taliban's initial pronouncements that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan would mean respect for human rights, commitment to women's inclusion, and rejection of violence has been replaced by the months-long consolidation of power defined by extreme application of sharia law.
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IS in Afghanistan Escalates Islamist Sectarian Violence
October 20, 2021
Islamist extremist groups are using high-casualty sectarian attacks to intensify what is developing as a low-level jihadist civil war in Afghanistan, as Islamic State Khorasan Province (IS-K) carried out a series of attacks on Shiite mosques.
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Turkey Expands Islamist Influence-Building in US with Turkish House Skyscraper Across from UN Headquarters
October 13, 2021
Turkey's use of Islamist soft power as an influence-building tool in the United States was on display with the high-profile launch by Turkish Presiden Recep Tayyip Erdogan of the Tukrish House, a multi-million dollar skyscraper across from UN headquarters in New York.
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Iran’s New Cabinet Signals Strength of Islamist Hardliners
October 13, 2021
Iran’s new Cabinet under President Ebrahim Raisi is comprised of Islamist hardliners who are veterans of the security and military-intelligence apparatus, as well as individuals sanctioned by Western governments because of human rights violations and terrorist-related economic activities.